Juventus boss Luciano Spalletti discussed some of the most interesting takeaways from his side’s disappointing 1-1 draw against Lecce.
The Bianconeri entered the new year riding a five-match winning streak across all competitions. However, the purple patch reached a sudden halt on Saturday, as they failed to beat the resilient Salentines at home.
The hosts dominated the action in the first half, but couldn’t translate their chances into goals. On the contrary, the Giallorossi made the most out of their solitary chance just before the interval. After the break, Weston McKennie found the equaliser for the Old Lady, but it was only worth a point.
After maintaining Igor Tudor’s 3-4-2-1 formation over the last two months, Spalletti unleashed a 4-2-3-1 system against Lecce, and he felt it paid dividends, despite what the final result suggests.
“Happy is not the right word. It’s difficult for me to say that, but I’m trying not to be devastated by the result that came out of it. Happiness is something different,” said the 66-year-old in his post-match press conference via IlBianconero.
“Over my coaching career, many things have happened to me, but I try not to dwell on it or torment myself by thinking only about that, because it hurts. Then I go home and try to prepare tomorrow’s training as well as possible.
“If Juventus play many matches like this, in the long run we’ll end up with the result we deserve, beyond the incident that went against us and cost us points along the way.”
Luciano Spalletti (Photo by Gabriele Maltinti/Getty Images)
The Juventus manager then heaped praise on McKennie, whose versatility was key for the formation change.
“Tonight we played in a 4-2-3-1, and I thought it’d make you all happy (referring to the journalists). Instead, you’re sad.
“McKennie today played as an attacking midfielder and was rewarded because he knows how to do these things very well. Among his many roles, this is one of the ones he performs best.”
The biggest talking point from the contest was Jonathan David’s abysmal spot-kick. The Canadian sent a weak shot to the middle, and it was blocked by Wladimiro Falcone’s trailing leg.
Spalletti insisted that he doesn’t interfere with penalty duties, allowing the player to decide on the spot.
“It’s always the same discussion. Those who didn’t take it could have missed it as well. David is a penalty taker because he knows how to take them; Locatelli can take them too, and so can Yildiz.
“Then there’s also the emotional side, because taking a penalty carries a big responsibility. Whether the players allowed him to take the penalty is something I’ll find out tomorrow, but I won’t go against that decision because David is a designated penalty taker. I don’t blame that choice.
“We played a good match. There’s no need to put in prison either the one who decided to take the penalty or the one who left it.”
On the other hand, the manager was more irritated by his team’s failure to convert their chances earlier in the match.
“We have to score earlier, because in the first five minutes we got there four times. The penalty is one incident, a close-range chance is another. We put 10–15 balls into the area just behind the six-yard box… it should have gone that way.
“In the first five minutes on the bench, we were looking at each other (perplexed). David, from a metre and a half out, hit the goalkeeper’s leg… these are important details. Kenan has already hit the inside of the post twice, and the ball has gone across the face of goal.
“That’s something we have to accept and move on, hoping this failure to win doesn’t affect the players mentally.”
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